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Jones not interested in Lions coaching job

Date published: June 19 2016

England head coach Eddie Jones is not interested in taking charge of the British and Irish Lions team on their of New Zealand in 2017.

Jones’ name has been mentioned as a possible Lions coach after he guided England to an historical series win over the Wallabies in Australia thanks to two victories in Brisbane and Melbourne in the three-Test series.

The former Australia and Japan boss also coached England to a Grand Slam winning Six Nations title earlier this year. This after he took over the reins from Stuart Lancaster who coached England’s during their disastrous World Cup campaign on home soil in 2015.

Jones, who was thought to be in the running for the Lions coaching role, along with Wales boss Warren Gatland and Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt, said he would have to decline that offer as he is focusing solely on making England the best team in the world.

“I am honoured to be thought of in that area but I have a massive commitment to England and the RFU and I can’t afford to spend any time away from the team,” he told the BBC.

“While it might be nice to do it professionally my job is to make England the best in the world and I am going to do that 100 per cent. So unfortunately I am unavailable for the Lions.

“Absolutely no. We have improved but we want to keep on improving and we will not be happy until we get to number one in the world.

“I can’t ask for more but we want more. We want to be the best in the world.”